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I know, I know! ANOTHER Tamy Corsair build! Forgive me for choosing a kit that is more than well represented on these boards but it is next on my list and I wanted to share my work here. I'm primarily a modeler of Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs so this is going to be new territory for me. Hopefully, I'll receive some help along the way and hopefully, the build journey will be of interest to at least some of you. Many of us grew up watching Baa Baa Black Sheep on TV and I was one of those kids. So I'm going to do one of Greg "Pappy" Boyington's many reputed mounts: Bu No. 17740 of VMF-214 based on Vella La Vella in 1943.
The kit will be, of course, the magnificent Tamiya 1/32 F4U-1a kit. I've heard so many glowing reports of this masterpiece that I half expect the kit to magically build itself! I'll be adding some customary bits and pieces including the Barracuda cockpit stencils, Barracuda resin wheels to replace the kit's vinyl tires, HGW belts and the Vector resin cowling flaps. Markings will be masked using Montex masks. Fundekals produces a nice set of dekals for some of Boyington's Marine Corsairs and the informative PDF instructions will be used as a painting guide.
Does anyone have an interest at looking at the sprues of this kit? I don't want to bore anyone but it is actually beneficial for me to present the sprues as a way to familiarize myself with the kit contents before I start. I'm not as familiar with the Corsair as I am with Luftwaffe fighters and I will be using past builds here as references, of which there should be many. I thought I was being cute when I picked up a True Details parachute to serve as a visual interest prop but there are at least 3 Corsair builds that have had the same bright idea as me. Takeaway?.. there will be nothing new here. Except what I bring to this build. And at this moment... it ain't much.

Time to start my tribute build project. Corsairs definitely seem popular lately Been awhile since I've done a prop so will try to do some justice to this kit. Like so many of us I built this kit as a teenager so when I had a choice of what to pick up I decided on this one. The intent isn't to be exact, my purpose is to recreate a childhood memory. My Uncle Dennis grew up in Akron Ohio by the Goodyear Airdock. He remembers seeing the corsairs flying over all the time. When he was about 8 he used to shoot his bow and arrow at them as they flew over lol. I expect this will be just a slightly dirty bird as I understand it they leaked oil from the radials no matter what the flying conditions were. Anyone who can drop in a few pictures as the project moves forward please feel free to do so. That will really help when I go to paint her. I may have to do my own decals for the major markings. The plan is to do an AC from VF653, which was a Naval Reserve Squadron out of Akron Ohio. VF653 was aboard the USS Valley Forge (CV45) during the Korean conflict. Most likely I will do Cook Cleland's AC. He was an Ace during WWII and became a Thomson Trophy winner before Korea. In addition to all this he was from Cleveland Ohio so the whole local area theme is playing big here!

Dad gave me this kit when he was cleaning out his study. The fuselage was unfortunately wrecked, but thanks to Kagemusha, who was able to supply me a fuselage he didn't need. I'll be building the kit for my old man, not sure on colourscheme yet, probably build it with the wings folded too.

After the disaster of the Trumpter F4u-1D build and the ridiculous wing arrangement, I've decided to jump straight back on the horse and build another Corsair... this time Tamiya's offering. First impressions were that it's not much different to the Trumpter offering... Right up to the point where I found the decals and instruction manual AND full colour reference photo book. I was sceptical before buying the Tamiya, due to the fairly substantial hike in price, but I think that Tamiya can utterly justify their price. The quality of moldings and lack of flashing and release pin marks is unbelievable. The level of detail of the cockpit alone is the best I've ever seen.
I apologise in advance to using John1's build as inspiration, If mine ends up 1/10 as well as his did, I will be a very happy man!
I have purchased the cockpit decal set and resin wheels from Baracudu and the cowl kit from Vector to enhance this build, but other than that I will be doing no scratch building, just enjoying the build.
I will post pictures of progress to follow. Thanks for looking and I welcome any tips or critism, good or bad.

For those that may know, what color were the main and tailwheel struts painted on the F4U-1 series of Corsairs? I'm mostly interested in the very early production raised cockpit corsairs (-1A's). I've read Dana Bell's 2nd book on the Corsair and it says that Chrysler had a lot of grey paint left over when the color was switched (to the best of my recollection) but what shade of grey? Contemporary photos indicate a neutral to relatively dark grey but if it's an AN number or a certain shade, I'd like to attempt to replicate it on my -1A build. I don't think non-specular white is correct but again, I just don't know. If there were different paint color options then I'd like to know that too.

Hi,
I renewed my old Corsair model. New colors, markings from masks. This plane was originally a "white 13" and it was a Ken Welsh plane, then number was changed to 7 and it was assigned to James Cupp. Unfortunately, on my photos most of scratches to silver/zinc chromate which i done dissapeared. On bottom there is a photo of model before repaint and photo with buddy Hellcat from Pacific with same number

I just thought I would post a mini review of the new Eduard Look 634002 F4U-1A Panel.
I saw this available a few weeks ago and ordered one for possible use in my Tamiya F4U-1A. My first impression is that the variety of media used is impressive, the gauges are clearly printed, it seems to be in register. The black panel plastic is nicely finished and not rough or flawed in any way. The lens covers are nice and shiny. And finally the detailed is nice and 3D looking, certainly better than the PE versions.
The seat belts, are nice for PE, but look overdone, the stitching looks large, perhaps a good dust coat or weathering will improve them. They can be used for a quick build, but I doubt anyone doing a super detailed build will use them. I do recommend spraying them with a thinned dust coat to blend them a bit.
So, this makes my opinion of it tough to nail down. I think with the F4U-1A, the parts Tamiya supplies actually make a very nice panel. I think where this one has an advantage is 1. labor saving, you are definitely saving time by having it built for you. 2. The clear and shallower lenses in the panel are much shallower than the Tamiya piece, which makes it easier to see the gauges from outside the cockpit.
So, now the bad...as nice as it is, it still has a plastic, unpainted, look to it, maybe a dullcoat and some weathering will improve the look a bit.
Conclusion, this is the nicest aftermarket panel besides Yahu, which in my mind still look nicer, but don't have as much 3-d effect to them. Its a tough call, in my personal opinion, having recently built the -1D, i dont think Tamiya Corsair needs this, as its only a marginal improvement. I will use it, mainly because I bought it already. Where I think this concept shines is for Hasegawa and Revell models that only give you a decal. For my next Revell Mustang or Hasegawa FW-190, I will definitely order one of each. I like the concept.

A month ago I started to get the urge to pick up a model airplane and tinker around a bit and see if It was something I wanted to do with my spare time.
I ended up picking up and mostly completing a very nice US Navy fighter kit, until I accidently sat on it this morning..Yes, I really sat on it.. dont ask..
I had actually planned to post the warm up build in the RFI before starting this, but this accident with my warm up build just before paint this afternoon kind of put a squash on that.. get it? Oi.
It's repairable and parts are ordered so at least I'm able to finish it when the replacements arrive.
As I said, it has been a while since aircraft modeling has really sparked an interest, and revisiting the bench after some absence required cleaning my work area, so I took the opportunity to organize my work space a bit better in preparation for this project.
There is a fantastic web page with a lot of information on the aircraft and personnel of VMF- 512 and their service in the closing stages of WWII in the Pacific.
http://www.adamsplanes.com/vmf-512.htm
I will use this fantastic kit and some aftermarket to try to do justice to the prototype.
This will be my first Tamiya Corsair! The funny thing is, I've had two pass though my hands since the first release (birdcage), but I've traded them off. This one, I shall build! I've got a ton of great builds from around the net earmarked, and all the reference books and CD's etc. are ready to go.
I will also be taking the time to show a comparison between aftermarket parts and the kit parts.
Ive already decided a couple of the items are being returned. They just aren't worth the extra money from my point of view.
Here is where things start, the Kit and A/M
I will be getting started here shortly, one last item I need is still being sourced.
More soon,
Paul

Ok, so I just finished my entry in the last GB and I'm back with this build. The first thing to do was to tidy up the workbench. Shaka, if you're reading this avert your eyes! Yup, a clean bench. So much space to clutter up, er, work in. Now onto my starting point: I'll be using the Montex masks for the larger markings and the Xtradecals for the smaller ones. I'm planning to build 307 in the 3 tone front, GSB rear combo. Carl

Well, after seven months of work, Tamy's 32nd scale Birdcage Corsair is finally done!
There's been a lot of praise over this kit and I can only echo everyone's words! What a lovely kit overall!
For the general painting, I used a mix of acrylic colours from Mig Ammo, AK Interactive, Vallejo and Hataka as well as Aclad for the engine. The camo was done with colours from Hataka's Late US Navy paint set and weathering was achieved with oils from the Mig Ammo oilbrusher set and pigments.
The model will be placed in a small vignette but that will be done a bit later in the future!
Again, I thoroughly enjoyed this model from start to finish not just because of it's excellent engineering but also because it was a project I feel tested and pushed my skills to a higher level!
A big thank you to all of you for your continuous encouragement but most important for sharing your feedback and suggestions with me at every stage of the build!
I dedicate this model to my lovely fiancee who bought this kit for me as a birthday present and who has been so supportive of my hobby!

Hello guys! Having finished the F-104 I've now moved on to Tamiya's 1/32 kit of the F4U-1 Corsair Birdcage. This is my first WW2 bird after a veeeery long time. The kit is also very special for me as it is my fiancee's first ever model kit present to me (more came later)! I'll be building it almost straight out of the box with just the addition of Eduard's fabric seatbelts, Barracuda's resin wheels and Eagle Cal decals. I started with the cockpit and was impressed at the number of subassemblies that were required to complete it and how everything went together perfectly! The fabric seatbelts were a pain to put together but I'm pleased with the end result and may use again in future builds! The cockpit was airbrushed with interior green and all raised details were highlighted with the same colour lightened with white. Smaller details were brushpainted their own specific colours. For the tail wheel area I made my own mixture from brown, red, white and yellow. Chipping was done with a small piece of sponge dipped in aluminium. The green I used may be a bit controversial although I've seen examples of built models and all had the same colour. Anyway, I'm content with this one!
More to come later!

Hi friends,
want to let you participate to my last work, F-4Ua1 from Tamiya finished with eagleCals, Eduard cockpit-mask and Vallejo colours.
Decided to make Dean S Hartley's personal corsair from VMF-225 in August 1944.
Needless to say that the build was a real pleasure, it's an Tamiya..

Hi guys, want to share with you my last finished model - Revell's F4U-1A Corsair
The model is very old, about 1970's, inaccurate and poor detailed.
However I had to make this model, because my client didn't want to buy a Tamiya's (that kit was too expensive for him) better one and provided me with that kit.
Anyway, the model is completed and the client is happy - this is the most important thing for me ))
The build was almost OOB with minor improvements which you may notice on photos.
Hope you enjoy it.

Greetings fellow plastic lovers! I haven't posted anything in quite some time and I thought that posting my progress on this project will not only keep me involved in the forum but also give me a little drive to steadily make progress on this build. I am a notoriously slow builder and during the summer months it's even slower so please be patient if I take a while between posts. With that said, the F4U Corsair has always been my favorite aircraft and I've had this kit since it was released. I've slowly been acquiring some aftermarket goodies to include on this build and I hope to really push my skills to the limit and hopefully learn a few new things. For this build I will be using main decals and cockpit decals from Barracuda, seatbelts from HGW, cowl flap set from Vector, mask from Montex and finally wheels from Barracuda. Thanks for looking!

Hi Folks,
Coming back little by little after a couple of years break, time to do a non LSP build, popular tamiya Corsair F4U-1A yet not defined which markings probably RNZAF or a std 34.
I wanted to try black basing approach to paint the camouflage.
More to come
Cheers

So, while I've been recently working on the WNW Snipe, and the Tamiya Mossie, this has also had a bit of space on my workbench. This was the kit that I did the original in box sprue said of when it first came out. I finally got around to starting on it after following Harv's night fighter WIP.
I don't have a full run of photos but here's what I have.
I started with the cockpit and mostly it's all OOB.
Here's the seat with a bunch of scratches added to it using a Prismacolor pencil. This will probably end up being the most weathered build I've ever done (besides the Millennium Falcon).
Here's the cockpit sidewalls. I used mid bronze green for the colour.

Hi guys,
Let me present you my recently finished Vought SBU-1 from Lukgraph.
You can take a look at WIP thread here
Build took me 2 months. It`s really nice and quite easy kit of beautiful plane. No fit issues, nice decals and simple ringing. Wing struts aligment and vacuformed canopy were the biggest challenges for me.
Painted with Mr. Color, Mr. Paint and Alclads paints. Filters, Pigments and panel line washes from AMMO.
this is already my 3rd resin Navy biplane finished this year so it`s time to start with something different (search and rescue calls my name)
thanks for looking and all your comments are welcomed
jan

Hello!
I am in with Trumpies well-known F4U-4 kit. With Snake! - markings of course
Have the kit on the to-do list for some time. I want to build it OOTB, only adding a little bit of AM to overcome ejector pin mark jamborees around the UC and to correct a few omissions of Trumpeter; mainly seat harness and prop shapes.
So I will go with the kit and:
- Aires wheel bays
- SAC UC legs
- Eduard interior PE
- Quickboost visier
- Rutman prop blades
- Rutman wheels
Next stop: Stashdiving to locate Jerrys resin parts...
- dutik

Here's my final build of the year. I finished it with just under 6 hours left in the year. This was the first plane I've done with any significant weathering so that was some skill building for me.
Sorry if the photos aren't that great but they were the best I could do.

Hello all,
It's been a while since I have posted; in fact, it's been a while since I've been building. But with encouragement from Peter, I decided to post the rest of this build.
I'm sure that almost everyone has read all of the glowing reports about this Tamiya kit. I won't add much to what we already know except to say that my experience has been the same. Everything really does fit amazingly well. It fits so well that in the couple of cases where it didn't, I ultimately found out that it was my fault. So be warned when you build this kit. Dry fit everything and if you find a problem, back step until you find where you went wrong.
My only complaint is the it's a vastly over-engineered kit. I think we are all used to building cockpits, for example, where we know that not everything, heck, maybe not hardly anything ends up being visible. But it's still worth it because it's fun. I exceeded my fun factor on this kit when it came to gluing together multiple parts to make the assemblies where the flaps fit into the trailing edge. But, that's just me and I'll get off my soapbox now.
In spite of the kit having a beautiful (stunning) engine, I decided to do the Eduard Brassin engine because the visible surface detailing is gorgeous. But, I've waiting till close to the end of the build to get cracking on it. The photo below shows the engine block and front housing as well as one of the cylinders. It's painted gloss black as a prelude to using Alclad Aluminum on the cylinder fins.
How, you may ask, am I going to mask each of the cylinders? Well, I got myself some Mr. Mask and some Mr. Mask Neo. The difference between them is ???, but I'm hoping that they will enable me to mask the cylinder heads in a reasonable period of time. The engine also has pushrods (scale) and even spark plugs. I'm going to have to do some careful drilling and fitting. Photo etch for the engine includes a couple of odds and ends and the wiring harness. I'm undecided at this point about using the PE wiring harness. I have some .015 solder which may be closer to a scale look, so I'm going to see what I think and then retreat to the PE, if necessary.
There's not a lot to say about the rest of the photos. At this point, the fuselage, center wing, outer wings, horizontal stab and elevators, vertical stab and rudder are all done except for final sanding, polishing, and rescribing. Although not pictured here, the landing gear is complete as well. Remaining to be done are some final sanding and finishing, primer, paint, decals, and final assembly. And, oh yes, the engine and cowl assembly.
It's been a lot of fun so far, and I'm hoping you will enjoy the rest of the build with me.
John

Does anyone know if the contours of the BBI 1/18 Corsair are anywhere near correct? Craig's(brahman104) rebuild of the P-38 has gotten me interested in trying to re-do one of those large scale monsters.
Thanks,
D.B.

I have been waiting patiently since Tamiya released their sublime A6M5 Zero for them to do the Corsair, and after years of hope it has finally landed! I said I would push all other builds aside the day it landed here to start on it, and today is the day! I ordered two kits from Wheels & Wings in Toronto, and was pleasantly surprised at their reasonable shipping charges and quick delivery. So far, I have opened the box on one of them to have a quick look inside. This is the export version, which comes with the clear cowling parts. I do not plan to use these, but it is always good to receive extra parts. I am VERY happy to see that Tamiya has done away with those cheesy PE hinges/steel rods for movable control surfaces- GOOD ON YOU TAMIYA! On the Zero, Spitfire, and Mustang I used thick CA glue to glue the surfaces in place. Glad I will not have to do that here! I also looked first at the gear bay parts, worried that they would need to have dozens of ejector pin marks filled and sanded like the Mustang kit. This time, they did it right! The marks are mostly on the parts which face inside the model and will not be visible. There are a couple of small ones, but they look to be easily dealt with. So far, the ONLY thing I would do differently would be to provide plastic tires inside of the rubber ones in the kit. Hopefully, Roy over at Barracuda is already working on a solution for these. I used his resin tires on the Mustang and Spitfire and they worked flawlessly. Are you listening Roy?
I'll be back soon with updates, stay tuned!

My F4U-1A kit just arrived, and I'm looking at potential builds. Since my last Corsair was a Leatherneck one from the Cactus Air Force (therefore wings extended), I'd love to do a carrier-based build this time with folded wings. Any suggestions on planes, especially USMC planes aboard ship? I know I could do a factory-delivery aboard a "jeep" carrier, but would prefer a fighting airframe with some weathering potential. TIA as always, you guys are the best.

We have just approved the profiles for our two new sheets for the F4U-1a Corsair - just in time for the Tamiya 1:32 kit! We will also offer them in 1:48 and 1:72 for those interested! Here they are in no particular order:
We'll post them on our site soon for pre-orders,
Happy Modeling,
Judy - Eagle Editions